Email a copy of "Israeli Officials: Air Force Would Strike Syria ‘Because Red Lines Were Crossed’" to a friend

The Israeli Air Force crosses all of Israel from north to south, in honor of the country's 63rd Independence Day. Photo: wiki commons.

Israel twice carried out airstrikes inside Syrian territory on Wednesday, the first airstrike allegedly destroying a convoy of trucks carrying anti-aircraft missiles destined for Hezbollah and the second destroying a “research institute” near Damascus was supposedly destroyed, Israel Hayom reported, citing the Syrian military. No Israeli official would confirm or deny the allegations.

If Israel did destroy the weapons, it would be consistent with the Jewish state’s long-standing red lines stating that it would not allow “game-changing” weapons to pass into the hands of Hezbollah. Such game-changing weapons consist of unconventional weapons or conventional weapons that enable a significant step up in the capabilities of terror organizations. Experts believe that Israel is not interested in an escalation, but is merely sending the message that it will not hesitate to attack in the future if any other “game-changing” weapons should be transferred to Hezbollah from Syria.

“If there indeed was an attack, then it would have been because red lines were crossed and you can’t draw red lines unless you guard them,” former Mossad head Danny Yatom told Army Radio on Wednesday.

Also speaking on Army Radio, Likud MK Tzahi Hanegbi, a former head of the powerful Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, said, “Israel has always said that if sophisticated weapons coming from Iran, North Korea and Russia fell into the hands of Hezbollah, it would cross a red line.”